Predators – Blu-ray Review

The Film:

Why was there such a huge gap in between this film and the last solo Predator film, I’ll never comprehend, because with plenty of sub-par franchises getting sequels, the Predator films should have gotten a third film long before now. Was Stephen Hopkins’ 1990 Predator 2 that deflating that Fox never wanted to do another follow-up? Nostalgia can be misguiding, but I’ve always liked that film. Whatever the case, aided with Robert Rodriguez’s gunslinger mentality, Predators is the franchise’s sequel we needed a while ago. If anything, it’s because Rodriguez understands genre expectations and the fulfillment of those expectations, all of which makes Predators a fun thrill ride. It’s simple in its structure and execution, but makes enough little twists here and there to feel fresh, without actually being fresh.

If it bleeds, we can kill it.

Also, Predators is a bundle of common sense in every department. If the first film was located in a jungle and the second in the concrete jungle, then taking this film to the jungle again, but with a planetary switch, is well, common sense. Giving us a new race of Predator, that creates some hefty tension in areas, although it is just a spin on the Jurassic Park III idea, which showed a dino far more dangerous than the series’ T-Rex, but hey, it works. The film’s premise and early handling of the set-up is intriguing enough to keep us glued to the screen. It’s these little spins on the age-old Most Dangerous Game formula that makes Predators a pleasing film, for newcomers and fans of the original. Charles Darwin would love the instincts of the film’s creatures, man and alien. The title provides a double-meaning, that adds a little structural depth to the film, which is by and large, like I’ve mentioned before, simple.

With the FX by KNB Effects, who are complimentary to Stan Winston and Nimrod Antal’s solid direction, the casting gets the microscopic look. On paper, Predators cast seems rather wimpy to the first film’s arm-wrestling, macho man, off-the-chart testosterone filled bad asses, but again, it’s in the film’s execution along with the fore-mentioned twists to certain things, that helps. It’s hard to replace Arnold and Carl Weathers, but Adrien Brody is ready for his action hero close-ups. He’s not too far-fetched as a tough guy, considering the first sequel had a donut-eating po-po named Danny Glover as the hero. Larry Fishburne fills in nicely too. Sadly, Fishburne’s role is or was made for Dutch (Arnold), and by not getting him hurts the character, who then becomes nothing more than exposition that connects dots and sets up the climax.

While the film ends quite conventionally, Antal and Rodriguez give this franchise a nice energy shot, something that was needed after two stale appearance in those AvP films. There are plenty of subtle and not so subtle nods to the first film that eases us back into franchise, that duels with itself as a homage and a stand alone film. Predators is not Shakespeare, or unless you want to build that case with the creatures gurgles and clicks are sonnets, but don’t misinterpret what this film promised: it’s a fun genre film. That’s what it needed to be, that’s what it did, and that’s what we got.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Fox releases a stellar HD release. The picture is gorgous; no damage, dark blacks, fine details, bold colors, all of that jazz that makes Blu-ray amazing. The DTS track is perfectly loud, active, deep bass, and yet, the dialogue and score never gets drowned out. All around, a great release.

Commentary: Nimrod Antal and Robert Rodriguez chat it up about the film, and it’s fine. Quick, fun, somewhat informative, but Rodriguez easily dominates the talking – oddly and curiously.

Motion Comics—Exclusive Prequel Vignettes: We get two short animated comics, that tell about the characters that will be hunted by the Predators about what they did prior and the origin of why the original Predator was captured. Quick, slightly neat.

Evolution of the Species: Predators Reborn: Here’s a great 40-minute documentary covering all of the film-making aspects you’d want, which is far better than the commentary. Broken up in six-parts, with an option of “Play All”, and we get all the interviews and on-set footage that makes up the running time. Worth the watch.

The Chosen is a quick look at the cast; Deleted Scenes that offer not too much that you’ll miss; Fox Movie Channel Presents: Making a Scene is fairly EPK; a ton of Trailers and the Digital Copy round out the extras.

Conclusion: A fine addition to the franchise, far better the the Vs. films, obviously, all on a great Blu-ray package.

The Film: Rating:

The Blu-ray: Rating: